Abilene High at Lewisville Hebron preview

What's riding on the game: This is the season opener for both teams. "It's here, and we're excited about that," AHS coach Steve Warren said. "This is what these kids have worked for since January, all the hard work and all the stuff behind the scenes that goes into putting a product out on the field. The scoreboard's on and they're the focus of what's going on. You get to play the game that you love and you do all this work to get to do that. The time's here and everybody surrounding our program's excited about it."

Last meeting: Abilene High won 20-10 in a 2007 Class 5A Division II state quarterfinal playoff at Texas Stadium. Keithy Fly and Spens Lackey each scored on 5-yard runs in the fourth quarter as the Eagles rallied from a 10-7 deficit.

Scouting Hebron: The Hawks return eight starters from last year's 6-5 playoff team, led by running back Dezmond Wortham (149-917, 14 TDs rushing; 22-210, 1 TD receiving) and linebacker Gavin Burford (78 tackles). "The schemes are going to mirror each other," Warren said. "They do kind of what we do defensively. Offensively, they're a little bit more two-back than we are, but a lot of the same stuff. They've got a Division I running back (Wortham), a Division I offensive lineman (C.J. Mexia), a Division I safety (Jamal Adams) over on the defensive side of the ball and they're well coached. It'll be a tough football game."

Eagles update: Abilene High is already battling the injury bug with receiver Grant Alexander (shoulder), defensive back-kicker Matt Loftin (ankle) and running back Jay Robinson (concussion) going down in preseason. Despite the health issues, Warren said the Eagles are in a good position entering the opener. "We're happy with where we are," he said. "We made progress through the spring and the summer. We've got a lot of veterans. The one thing that's different is the lack of preseason games, to actually play some (backup) guys on purpose in some game situations. We won't have as much of a luxury to do that as we have in the past because we're (two weeks) away from starting district play. It's here and it's here fast, and we've got to be ready to go."

What the Eagles need to do to win: Keep up the good work. Abilene High had a solid showing from the first-team offense and defense in last week's scrimmage against Copperas Cove. A similar performance should get the job done.